Moldable compound



Pa tenied Dec. 2, 3924.

[UNITED STATES FRANK J. mo s, .13., or MEBIDEN, CONNECTICUT, .essieivon TO THE CONNECTICUT 'rnnnrnonn & ELECTRIC COMPANY, moonronnrnn, or

A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

MOLDABLE 11o Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J.- Gno'rnN,'Jr.,

a citizen of the United States of America,-

' residing at Meriden, Connecticut, have invented anew and useful Moldable .Compound, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a moldable compoundand method of making the same. The

compound is particularly adapted for mold; A

ing m a cold state, that is, at atmospheric temperature though in some cases it may be found preferablylor des'irable to mold the compound while .hot. The compound is especially adapted forthe manufacture of parts such as electrical fittings.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a compound which may be'molded into articles which, when cured, will be relatively hard, will possess great mechanical strength and which will take' a good polish.

It is a further object to provide a compound which will keep for a; considerable length of time before molding without'material deterioration, "or undue setting or hardening. I 1

It is a further objectto provide a moldable compound whichswill be relatively inexpensive and'with which rapid and uniform production in'the molds may berattained. Y Y 1 The compound in itspreferred form is composed of asbestos, boiled linseedoil, as-

p phalt, and copal. .In order to hastenthe oxidation or drying of the compound an oxidizing agent or drier "also maybe added. 'Theproportions of the various constituents may be varied between theapproximate lim- 7 4 its as follows: asbestos-84.2% to 7 2.4%; linseed oil 7.72% to 10.8% asphalt 7.72% to 10.8%; and co al .36%gto 6%.- A-preferably form of rier'is a mixture'of linseed oil and ameta'llic oxidizing agent,.-'and. .the 1 addition of a material quantity.joffsuch drier should he accompanied 1by'a -'corre-.

sponding decrease of the "proportion of lin-l seed oil in order-to keep the quantity ofthe latterwithin the{desired-]im1ts.j;. n exam 5 ple of'a compound coming within the-above lilrlniltsbis asbegt os 7 oil asat 0 ier 0811 coa p In mzfri ng the conipound the ingredients' and powderedmay be remove mixer and cured. This curing, which is really permitting oxidation, may be effect 1,517,360 PATENT OFFICE.

MERInEN, CONNECTICUT,

COMPOUND.

Application filed 'November 10, 1922. Serial No. 600,016.

-may be placed in a suitable container and heated together but I prefer to addthe copal, preferably in. the form of chips "ground to"100; mesh, to the boiled linseed oil'and heat the mixture to a temperature of, sa 300 F. to 400. F. When the copal is dissolved the asphalt is added. If an oxidizing agent or-so called drier is to be added it is added to the above mixture preferably While hot and the mixture stirred until it is substantially uniform. The finely divided asbestos is put into a mixer and the hot liquidpoured over it while the mixer is in operation, care bein taken to distribute the liquid throughoutt e'mass as nearly as possible. The mixer is run until the compound is substantiallyuniform throughout and until it flS in a 'finely'dividedor powdered state. Thegmixi'ng is likely to require several hours to secure the desired uniformity. After the mixing -is continued for several hours, the'c'ompoundwill be dark in color and in finely divided form. The size of the particles will, of course, depend somewhat upon the proportions of the various ingredients and upon the length of time of 4 I so.

mixmg. J I

The ingredients'when thorou hly. mixed from the ed by exposing the material to the air for a time, but-the time for thus curing the composition will be too great for economy since the processxhay take"many. days oreven weeks with some compositions. In order to hasten production, the compound, on rea moval-fromthe mixer, is preferably placed in a steam or other oven at a temperature of say 200 F. to 250 At this tempera iturethe compound oxidizes fairly rapidly,

and inltwenty-fourhoui's orv so, depending upon the'particula'r composition, the compound is ready-for molding. y

The function of the so called drier is to "cause the compound to'oxidize more rapidly, thus effecting a sav-ing of time and greater production, It. is desirable [to' oxidiz e the ,material as much" as possible, but if almost completely oxidized,- the compound will be difficult to mold andwill require great 'pressure in the presses, and the material will not flow sufliciently freely in the molds to per- H factory. since the compound will often adhere to the molds and to prevent such adherence the molds must be lubricated before each pieceis molded. When the compound has been properly cured or oxidized, lubrication of the molds will be unnecessary and production will thus beincreased. materially.

The compound is molded'in'suitable molding presses, with or without metal inserts, and the molded articles are then cured, preferably by baking orheating in an oven, at a temperature of say 400 F. until the articles are hard and of.permanent character. The eriod of baking, of course, depends large y upon the size and character of. the molded article and upon the particular composition and the length of time of the preliminary oxidizing. Good results may be obtained, with the compositions herein stated, by baking the molded articles fo twenty-four to thirty hours. p

The articles, after being baked or cured, are relatively hard, possess great mechanical strength, can be machined or drilled,- and may be highly polished. In fact, the article as coming from the molds have a relatively high polish. The articles are practically non-inflammable, and non-hygroscopic, re-

tain their shape and are of permanent character. 1

While the ingredients of thecompound as heretofore mentioned and theproportions heretofore mentioned I are referable, it should'be understood that en stitutions of other materials may be made, though atthe might be replaced by'other similar or inertmaterial. It should likewise be noted that present time I consider the proportions and ngredients mentioned as the best. I con-- sider that a part or all of the asbestos fibre the boiled linseedoil might be replaced by other. drying or unsaturated oils. There are of asbestos,

The copal is preferably what'is known as East India copal chips, and'the addition of this material increases the st length of the finished product materially. he asphaltic substance may be commercial Trinidad asphalt or similar material.

While I have described in detail a preferred composition of my compound and a preferred method of making and using, I do not wish to be strictly limited thereto, since changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article formed of a moldable composition which includes approximately, from 72.4% to 84.2% of inert material, from 7.72% to 10.8% of a drying oil, from 7.72% to 10.8% of an asphaltic substance, and from 0.36% to 6% of a resin of the copal type.

2. An article formed of a moldable composition which includes approximately, from 72.4% to 84.2% of inert material, from 7.72% to 10.8% of a drying oil witha drier, from 7.72% stanceand from .36% to 6% of a resin of the copal type.

3. An article'formed of a moldable composition which includes approximately, 78% of an inert material,'8 of a drying oil, 9 of an asphaltic substance, 1 of a drier, and 2 of a resin of the copal type.

4. An article formed of a moldable composition which includes approximatel from 72.4% to 84.2% of asbestos, from 7. 2% to 10.8% of linseed oil, from 7.72% to 10.8% of asphalt, and from 0.36% to 6% of copal.

v 5. An article formed of a moldable composition which includes approximately, 78% 8 of boiled linseed oil, 9 of aiphalt, 1%% of a drier,-and 2%% of" copa FRANK J. GROTEN, JR. I

to 10.8% of an asphaltic sub- 

